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Kansas City family pledges $3 million for Edwards Campus expansion
A $3 million pledge from the family foundation of a Kansas
City developer will help KU's Edwards Campus begin its expansion
project in October.
The pledge from the Victor and Helen Regnier Charitable Foundation
to the Kansas University Endowment Association will support
construction of a second classroom building on the Edwards
Campus at 127th Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park.
The new building is part of a proposed $70-million expansion
of the campus and will be named Victor and Helen Regnier Hall,
pending approval from the Kansas Board of Regents.
"The Edwards Campus is key to the continuing economic
development of Greater Kansas City," Chancellor Robert
Hemenway said. "With the Regnier family's support, the
campus will expand to meet the growing educational and research
needs of the Kansas City business and professional community."
Bob Regnier, one of Victor's sons, said his late father would
have been proud to support education in Johnson County, where
Victor was a homebuilder and developer for five decades.
"Dad always had a lot of respect for the place of education
in society and knew how important it was as an armature for
future growth," Bob said. "He also took great pride
in participating in the growth and development of Johnson
County. He would have been pleased with a gift like this that
secures a better future for the community."
In addition to the Regnier pledge, the building will be funded
by a previously announced $5 million gift from the Hall Family
Foundation of Kansas City. The remaining $9.8 million will
be financed through revenue bonds, which will be paid through
tuition revenue from the campus.
The 82,000-square-foot building will feature 21 classrooms,
a 240-seat auditorium and offices for 45 faculty members.
After Regnier Hall is completed in 2004, enrollment at the
campus is expected to double to 4,000 students. Plans call
for increasing the number of its degree programs from 22 to
34.
About 400 students graduate from Edwards Campus programs
each year, most of them with master's degrees. Vice Chancellor
Robert M. Clark said those who earn master's degrees add to
the local economy in many ways, most directly through their
higher earnings. For example, he said, the U.S. Census Bureau
estimates that individuals with master's degrees earn $10,000
more annually than those with bachelor's degrees.
"That translates into about $4 million each year that
the Edwards Campus adds to the economy of the area,"
he said. "We are grateful the Regnier family has recognized
the value of this campus to the community's development and
have chosen to support it so generously."
For 40 years, Victor and Helen developed housing and commercial
properties throughout Johnson County. Today the Regnier Foundation
is directed by Victor and Helen's three children, Bob, Victor
Jr. and Cathy, c'72. Helen suffers from chronic health problems
and Victor Sr. died of brain cancer in 2000 at age 82.
Helen, Cathy and Bob live in Johnson County, where Bob is
president of the Bank of Blue Valley in Overland Park. Cathy
participates in the family business and is also the primary
family caregiver for her mother. Victor Jr. is professor of
architecture and gerontology at the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles, Calif., and is a former dean of
the USC School of Architecture.
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